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zwolanerd

I guess I just like liking things

We did 1989, so let’s just move on to the next year, shall we? We shall.

First up, let’s look at the Top Ten Highest Grossing from the year:

1. Ghost, $505,702,588
2. Home Alone, $476,684,675
3. Pretty Woman, $463,407,268
4. Dances with Wolves, $424,208,848
5. Total Recall, $261,299,840
6. Die Hard 2, $240,031,094
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, $201,965,915
8. Kindergarten Cop, $201,957,688
9. The Hunt for Red October, $200,512,643
10. Dick Tracy, $162,738,726

Okay, seems about right. Now let’s take a look at my ten favorite from the year:

This just makes me want to listen to the ending credits song again.

This just makes me want to listen to the ending credits song again.

10. Dick Tracy – I’ve been sort-of half-looking for this one to watch again lately. It’s been forever since I’ve seen it, but I remember really liking the look and feel of it. Plus, Mandy Patinkin sings a duet with Madonna in it, so it’s got that going for it, which is nice.

9. My Blue Heaven – Steve Martin and Rick Moranis should be legally required to make movies together every two years. Bonus points for “You could melt all this stuff.”

8. Dances with Wolves – You know what, Kevin Costner? Nice work. Good on ya. I don’t know that this one holds up years later, but nice work anyway.

7. Darkman – Sam Raimi’s first crack at a superhero (of sorts) is demented in all the right ways.

6. Back to the Future Part III – It’s weird to me this didn’t make the top ten, but it’s also weird to me when I run into people who don’t like it. Better than BttF 2, but not as good as BttF 1, right?

5. Total Recall – I remember people being horrified that Arnold (‘s character) uses a dead guy as a bullet shield. Seriously, people were outraged. I was all, “would you rather he had used a guy who wasn’t dead?”

4. Die Hard 2 – Apparently this was Bruce Willis’s least favorite Die Hard movie at one point (I think it was after the first three – has someone asked him again recently?), but it’s my second-favorite. Skyscraper, airport – the third one should’ve been in a mall.

3. Kindergarten Cop – This movie might be in my All-Time Top Ten, for sure Top Twenty. It doesn’t work without Arnold’s up-to-that point movie history, but since we had that, it’s great.

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – I have this weird memory of my pastor reading a list of what was bad about this movie and in the process quoting the line, “Major league butt-kicking is back in town.” I’m pretty sure most folk were shaking their heads, but I was like, “that sounds awesome!” And it was. No offense intended to any pastors, of course!

1. Edward Scissorhands – Burton, Depp, and Ryder at the height of their powers.

So I had six movies in common with the highest grossing. I don’t know what that means, if anything.

Bonus List!  These are the movies you are outraged about me leaving off my list above:

  • Arachnophobia – If I have anything to say about it, I will never watch this movie in my entire life. I saw the first five minutes once, said “Nope!” and turned it off.
  • Days of Thunder – Top Gun, but with cars! That is literally the only thing I remember about this movie, other than learning about “drafting” for the first time.
  • Flatliners – Spooky-cool back in the day, and full of huge stars. I can’t drudge up any desire to ever watch it again, though.
  • Ghost – I’d probably watch this again if someone wanted to, but I wouldn’t initiate it.
  • Goodfellas – This is the most offensive exclusion, I am sure. I think it was fine! Probably! I don’t remember it much and mob movies are mostly just “okay” for me. Never mind that “My Blue Heaven” is technically a mob movie.
  • The Grifters – Not my favorite Cusack, but it’s highly regarded by most.
  • Home Alone – my wife and her sister just watched this one again this past weekend and it is just no my thing. I know this makes me a horrible person.
  • The Hunt for Red October – Yes, yes, it’s fine. Quit hounding me.
  • It – Tim Curry is fantastic as a clown I never want to see again in my whole life, but who remembers anything else from this movie?
  • Miller’s Crossing – Fantastic movie by the Coens, I just worked hard at keeping my list to 10 this time around.
  • Predator 2 – Not nearly as good as the first one, but I still like it.
  • Presumed Innocent – A videostore clerk spoiled this movie for me in a conversation with another customer. This was back before the Internet, so spoilers were kind of rare and more of a big deal for me. I think maybe the experience made me not care as much about spoilers, though, because I eventually watched the movie and it was pretty good.
  • Pretty Woman – I don’t even know what to say about this one. I’m fine with it making Julia Roberts a big star, but that whole story… bleah.
  • Pump Up the Volume – Man, this movie was the coolest! …when I was just out of high school. Teen stick-it-to-the-man movies don’t seem to hold up very well, though, both to aging (themselves) and aging (the viewer).
  • Quigley Down Under – I know our resident Aussie Lyn is sad this movie didn’t make the top ten. (NOTE: She is not sad at all, as she wants me to believe this movie doesn’t represent Australia correctly, but I know she’s wrong.)
  • RoboCop 2 – I remember this being awesome, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it.
  • Rocky V – I’m just kidding, no one’s outraged about this one not being on the list. Stallone himself says it’s the worst Rocky movie.
  • Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead – I think I like the idea of this one more than the actual movie that came out of the idea – taking minor characters from a major play and giving them a whole life and backstory? Pretty cool, and great actors besides. It’s time I saw this again.

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